Charleston

Saturday morning, we had breakfast at the hotel and then headed to Francis Marion National Forest to hike along the Swamp Fox Passage of the Palmetto Trail.  We parked at the trailhead off US-17 and hit the trail.

In a short ways, the Awendaw Passage turned right and we went left along Swamp Fox passage.  We saw lots of dwarf palmetto along the trail.

The trail led through a pine forest with evidence of a recent prescribed burn.

In about a mile, there was a large bridge over Steed Creek.

The black water was flowing.

The trail crossed Steed Creek Road and past another trailhead parking after about 3 miles.  We went as far as where the trail started following a gravel road.  There was a cool fly agaric mushroom here.

We had a snack and started making our way back.

At the parking area, we ran into a couple that were trying to rescue an emaciated dog.  Alex gave them a couple of his treats to help save the starving dog.  We continued on from here back to the trailhead.

Heading back to Charleston, we parked at the garage near the Visitor center in downtown.  We walked Alex down King Street through the city and turned on Broad Street.  St. Michael's Church was really pretty, next to the Post Office.

Near the water, we turned on Bay Street and walked down to the end for a view of Charleston Harbor.

On the way back, we passed Rainbow Row, a series of pastel houses along Bay Street.

Then we walked over to Riley Waterfront Park to see the pineapple fountain.

There was another cool fountain in the park as well.

By this time, we were starting to get hungry and stopped at Slightly North of Broad.  Sitting outside with Alex, we had a nice meal and drinks.  We visited a few more stores and then headed back to the hotel and started getting our stuff packed up.

High Hills of Santee

Thursday after Christmas, we took Alex for a road trip to South Carolina and Georgia over winter shutdown.  We left around 530 and took I-95 into South Carolina.  Our first stop was Poinsett State Park.  As we got out of the car, we heard some loud pecking at a tree and looked up to see a yellow-bellied sapsucker.

After getting our stuff together, we went down to the old mill site where only the ruins remained.

The CCC had rebuilt the spillway over the old millrace when they constructed the park.

The small waterfall here was really scenic.

After some pictures, we got on Coquina Trail, which is part of the High Hills of Santee Passage of Palmetto Trail, and hiked around the Old Levi Mill Pond.

There was a larger spillway from the pond that the trail crossed on a bridge.

From here, there were some surprisingly steep bluffs along Shanks Creek.

We stayed on Palmetto Trail down to the road and crossed Shanks Creek on a footbridge.

Crossing the road, we took Splice Trail back towards the parking lot.  The Spanish moss here was really impressive.

Here, we got back on the Wateree Passage of Palmetto Trail heading north.  The trail went for about a mile and crossed Campbell Creek on a footbridge.

Just past here, the trail left the park and entered Manchester State Forest, following old gravel roads through the forest.

There was some reindeer lichen growing along the trail.

We followed Palmetto Trail for another mile or so and stopped at a scenic view of Wateree Swamp.

After a snack we headed back and took Scout Trail to make a loop.

From here, we headed towards Charleston.  It was a little too early to check in to the hotel, so we swung by the Angel Oak.

It was very crowded but definitely worth a stop to see this magnificent live oak.

Some of the massive branches dropped into the ground and rose back up.

The tree is estimated to be 300 to 400 years old; so old that ferns and mosses are growing from its massive branches.

We got some pictures and then checked into the Best Western.  For dinner, we went to Maybank Public House and then went to bed early.